The Weaver's Lament

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by Elizabeth Haydon


  The vermin he had fought at the beginning of his journey had vanished, leaving nothing but the evidence of salt water all around him. If this is Serendair, if I have made it back from whence I came, it’s probably submerged, he thought.

  He remembered MacQuieth’s description of what he had found when he had walked the sea to the site of the Island’s destruction, hoping and failing to find and bury his son.

  Where there had been highlands, there was nothing beneath the waves but rubble and ruin, melted statues and stone gates jutting from great mountains of broken earth, the towers of Elysian castle now pebbles in the swirling current. They had built seawalls, levies, in the last days, in the vain attempt to hold back the inevitable. That must have been Hector. My son would have been filling bags of sand to the last.

  As he climbed the taproot, what had been the first of the pathways in their endless journey, he saw above him some of what MacQuieth had spoken of—broken walls and the detritus of cataclysm, clogging the tunnel above it.

  Nothing recognizable except for what looked like a gate, crushed at the bottom of all the wreckage.

  With the last of his strength, Achmed seized the handle of the gate and pulled with all his might, knowing against all hope that he was trying to open a door at the very bottom of the sea, on which an entire Island kingdom lay in pieces.

  To his surprise, it opened.

  Beyond the gate stood a woman he remembered, smiling brightly.

  The elemental fire that had once burned at her core, turning her hair the color of warm honey, was gone; it now hung loose to her waist, a waterfall the same shade as pale flax.

  Gone was the seraphic beauty she had gained in her walk through the fire; she was now just the pretty young girl he had run into in the back alleys of Easton. All of the flawless perfection of her beauty had faded into a simple, dewy complexion and bright green eyes that sparkled when she smiled.

  As she was doing now, beckoning excitedly to him.

  “Come!”

  Behind her a giant shadow loomed, broad as a two-yoked oxcart, tall as an elder-oak, his skin the color of old bruises, his shaggy horse-hair and beard red-orange once more.

  He was grinning broadly, displaying neatly polished tusks.

  Whole again.

  “Come!” she called once more. Her voice was musical, but held none of the power of the ring of the Namer. Her eyes met his, and her smile broadened.

  “Come with us, if you want to live!”

  As the gate crumbled before his eyes, and the sea began to rush in, Achmed’s heart leapt, and he could not help himself.

  He threw his head back, as he had never before done in his life, and began to laugh uproariously.

  Then he ran for the doorway and climbed through it.

  Into arms that were waiting to embrace him.

  Welcoming him.

  After all his journeys through darkness, above and below the surface of the Earth, into the Light.

  The Symphony of Ages Books by Elizabeth Haydon

  Rhapsody: Child of Blood

  Prophecy: Child of Earth

  Destiny: Child of the Sky

  Requiem for the Sun

  Elegy for a Lost Star

  The Assassin King

  The Merchant Emperor

  The Hollow Queen

  The Weaver’s Lament

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  As the daughter of an air-force officer, Elizabeth Haydon began traveling at an early age and has since traveled all over the world. She draws on the imagery of these visits in The Symphony of Ages series and blends her love of music, anthropology, herbalism, and folklore into much of her writing. Haydon is also a harpist and a madrigal singer (a singer of medieval songs). She lives with her family on the East Coast. You can sign up for email updates here.

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  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  Map 1

  Map 2

  The Weaver’s Lament

  Prologue

  The Prophecy of the Three

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Prophecy of the Child of Time

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Prophecy of the Last Guardian

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Epilogue

  The Symphony of Ages Books by Elizabeth Haydon

  About the Author

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  THE WEAVER’S LAMENT

  Copyright © 2016 by Elizabeth Haydon

  All rights reserved.

  Maps by Ed Gazsi

  Cover art by Stephen Youll

  Illustrations here and here by Joe Dettmore

  A Tor Book

  Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC

  175 Fifth Avenue

  New York, NY 10010

  www.tor-forge.com

  Tor® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.

  ISBN 978-0-7653-2055-1 (hardcover)

  ISBN 978-1-4299-4922-4 (e-book)

  e-ISBN 9781429949224

  Our e-books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by e-mail at [email protected].

  First Edition: June 2016

 

 

 


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